Search

I have a short week this week because on Friday the fate friend and some other friends and I are heading to Vegas to celebrate my dear friend Natisha’s 30th birthday in Vegas!!!

I have not had a vacation all year. I have had some time off but I seem to be more busy during that time or dealing with other crap. So this will be the first vacation and time off where the main point is to have fun!

So, as you can imagine, I am super excited! And it’s a little hard to concentrate with the upcoming trip and oh did I mention I have more vacation time to celebrate, with the Husband, our anniversary! I am a lucky girl – I get to go to Vegas for the weekend and have the rest of the week off to hang out and relax with the Husband.

I don’t have a best friend – I have been blessed with many close friends/cousins/family members/awesome husband/ in-laws/pets – but I think I might be the only person to have a Fate Friend!

Yes – my Fate Friend (FF) and I came up with a new phrase. It all started in college – well actually since we were fate friends – it really started in a magical place called Band Camp! Humming Bird Music Camp (week four) to be exact! And don’t judge us because we went to band camp – when I have kids and if they choose to play an instrument I WILL send them to Hummingbird Music Camp! One of the best experiences of my life. I made some lifelong friends there and still run into people all over the world wearing Humming Bird Music Camp shirts!

Ok so my FF Shannon and I first met at band camp when we were in elementary school, reconnected in high school for a brief moment and became the friends we are today in college. See what I mean by FATE friends – she is my lobster!

We were cheerleaders (again don’t judge) in high school and college together. And we bonded in a van at a basketball tournament in Bowling Green, KY!

We have many reasons we credit to the fact that we are friends, we even attempted to make shirts – but we just had some cocktails instead. On that note, . .

Shannon came over last weekend to hang out, and try my new concoction the Drunken Arnold Palmer. In an effort to be healthier, while continuing to enjoy an adult beverage I created a Drunken Arnold Palmer.

The only calories you are getting are from the vodka – so it’s a low calorie, refreshing summer cocktail! You can also add Splenda or a sugar substitute if you wish but I think it tasted fine without one.

Drunken Arnold Palmer

So back to the Fate Friend thing, I have a list of reasons why Shannon and I are Fate Friends – so enjoy and maybe you will realize you too have a fate friend and we can make the term Fate Friend a house hold name!

Fate Friend Reasons:

We went to band camp together – week four every year from the third grade to the eight grade!

She played the piano – as did I – but I also played the flute (don’t have any dirty thoughts – Alyson Hannigan totally ruined band camp for some actual band campers)

My husband’s dad Coach Montoya (or as I like to refer to him as Choach) was Shannon’s PE coach in elementary

We both worked at the Limited Too at the Cottonwood Mall – and still have clothes and love that place. We also agreed that if we ever have kids – they are not shopping at the Limited Too because it’s ridiculously expensive for the tweens!!

We found each other again in College when I tried out for the NMSU cheerleading all girls team. Shannon was already on the team – basically from that moment on we were always together. She was mostly at my house watching Friends or eating left over pies the husband would bring from Village Inn (Lemon Supreme to be exact)

Which is another reason why we are fate friends – in college we were always coming up with crazy diet schemes. We even drove to Juárez (it was still safe then) to try and get a crazy diet pill we read about at a Pharmacy – they did not sell them to us – However . . .

We did come up with another scheme – over green chili cheese fries with ranch at Village Inn where we ate every Tuesday night and complained about our weight to the husband who worked there – we came up with a scheme to convince a doctor to prescribe us the crazy diet pills. After months of prep (mostly lots of cheese fries later) we convinced doctor to prescribe us the diet pills! Poor doctor – he hardly spoke English and was a total suckerJ

The husband worked at Village Inn all though college and I hate staying alone, so Shannon, being the great fate friend that she is would stay with me. One night we were convinced she had a stalker (which turned out to be true) we came up with a bunch of scary evidence that he was watching her and filed a complaint

Our mutual love for animals! One time I was at Shannon’s on campus apartments when this skinny, scrawny bag of bones cat walked up to me (really was just wandering outside her apartments) I grabbed saved the cat and brought it into Shannon’s apartment even after she said several times “DO NOT BRING THAT CAT INTO MY APARTMENT” now the cat (Lance) is a member of Shannon’s family and a little overweight! What a lucky cat!

This is Lance

A big reason we are fate friends is because I understand Shannon’s family – they are quirky as is my family. Shannon’s dad is the reason I am working at PR Newswire – he knew Shane and I were moving back to Albuquerque from Las Cruces and kept an eye out for any job openings in my degree area. He told me about a new business opening in Albuquerque and I immediately applied – thanks Jack!

One time I was at Barnes and Noble stocking up on books when this lady stuck her face in my hair and took a loud sniff – I was shocked and turned around and saw Shannon’s mom! She said “Josa thank god that was you! You smell so good I couldn’t resist smelling you. What are you wearing?” HAHAHAHA (it was Coco Mademoiselle)

I usually ask book advice from Shannon’s mom Becca who thinks I am a serious reader because I loved People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks – it’s seriously an amazing book you should check out!

We both are nerds at heart! We LOVE Harry Potter, will pick Damon over Stefan in the Vampire Diaries and will read any artical about the show FRIENDS – also both Team Aniston!

Shannon and I have established traditions – One of which is having a girls weekend in Vegas at the end of every Summer! Can’t wait for this year – we bought our tickets last week!!!

My husband is just as much of a fate friend with Shannon as I am. I will start to say something about Shannon and he can finish what I was going to say!

I LOVE my fate friend and hopefully you all will realize you too have fate friends.